17 June 2009

(Guardian) Two issues raised in Lord Carter's review affect the games industry in particular First, there is some suggestion that the UK Government will support a tax breaks system like the ones already in place in Canada and South Korea. While the tax breaks are only alluded to in the Digital Britain document, many insiders are cautiously celebrating the possibility of implementation. Second, and more controversially, the Government has chosen to back the PEGI system of self-regulation rather than the homegrown, government-affiliated, top-down BBFC's. A long debate has been raging behind the scenes for several years between the two regulation bodies, and many in the industry will welcome the decision. Although less well-recognised in the UK, the PEGI scheme is a pan-European, independent opt-in facility backed by 28 countries. BBFC have not responded well. see Digital Britain: UK to implement PEGI system for video games classification (Daily Telegraph).